WWF Australia buys commercial shark licence to help heal the Great Barrier Reef

The conservation group WWF Australia has bought a commercial shark fishing licence, as it bids to protect the predators in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and surrounding area.

The licence cost $100,000 and includes a 1.2kilometre net. Commercial shark catch on the Great Barrier Reef rose from 222 tonnes in 2014 to 402 tonnes in 2015, Queensland Government figures revealed.

Conservation director Gilly Llewellyn has said that the licence and removal of the net is a chance help save sharks and protect dugongs, turtles and dolphins in a bid to “help the reef heal after the worst coral bleaching in history.”

Follow @BizReviewAU

Read the July 2016 issue of Business Review Australia and Asia magazine